19 June 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A new study shows that the cave paintings at Cueva Ardales are the work of Neanderthals

A study of pigments used in murals in the Cueva Ardales caves in southern Spain has revealed that Neanderthals, long perceived as simple and savage, actually painted stalagmites in this Spanish cave more than 60,000 years ago.

The research “Symbolic role of the underworld among Middle Paleolithic Neanderthals” published in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) was conducted by Àfrica Pitarch Martí and her colleagues at Collaborative Research Center 806.

Since the release of a 2018 study attributing red ocher pigment discovered on the stalagmitic dome of Cueva de Ardales to our extinct “cousin” species, the topic had been roiled the paleoarchaeology community.

The dating suggested that this art has at least 64,800 years of history and was made when modern humans did not inhabit the European continent.

The composition and location of the pigments were found to be inconsistent with natural processes, according to new analysis.

This combination of pictures obtained on July 29, 2021, shows a general view and close-up of a partly colored stalagmite tower in the Spanish cave of Ardales, southern Spain.
This combination of pictures obtained on July 29, 2021, shows a general view and close-up of a partly colored stalagmite tower in the Spanish cave of Ardales, southern Spain. Photo: Africa Pitarch Martí

The pillar’s edges are covered with a slew of thin sinter plumes. Red paint spots, dots, and lines were placed in 45 different places on these sinter curtains. The goal was to determine the composition and potential origin of pigments. The results indicated that the pigment composition and arrangement could not be attributable to natural processes, but that they were applied by spraying and, in some cases, blowing.

The researchers discovered that the composition of the pigments did not match natural samples obtained from the cave’s floor and walls, suggesting that the pigments were brought in from outside.

More detailed dating revealed that the pigments were applied at various times, separated by almost 10 thousand years. The pigment was applied, the first time more than 65,000 years ago and the second time between 45,300 and 48,700 years ago, during the period of Neanderthal habitation.

It’s impossible to compare Neanderthal “art” to ancient contemporary human wall paintings, such as those discovered in France’s Chauvet-Pont d’Arc cave more than 30,000 years ago. The latest discovery, however, adds to mounting evidence that Neanderthals, whose lineage died out approximately 40,000 years ago, were not the boorish cousins of Homo sapiens that they had long been depicted to be.

The team wrote these are not art in the strict sense “but rather the result of graphic behaviors intent on perpetuating the symbolic significance of a space.”

The cave formations “played a crucial role in the symbolic systems of some Neanderthal societies,” albeit the meaning of those symbols is still unknown.

İDW

Related Articles

Urartian King Argishti’s shield reveals the name of an unknown country

30 January 2023

30 January 2023

The inscription on a bronze shield purchased by the Rezan Has Museum revealed the name of an unknown country. It...

14,000 years old vessels made by Hunter-gatherers in Japan

1 May 2022

1 May 2022

The Late Pleistocene inhabitants of Tanegashima Island were making pottery about 14,000 years ago. In the Jomon period, people obtained...

Thousand-Year-Old Christian Viking-era Graves Found in Sweden

28 June 2021

28 June 2021

Seven Christian tombs dating to the Viking Age have been found at Sigtuna. According to archaeologists, the tombs date to...

Assyrian seal found in the ancient Kef Fortress built by the Urartians

18 November 2024

18 November 2024

An alabaster seal, believed to be from the Assyrian Empire and belonging to a nobleman, was discovered in the ancient...

Archaeologists unearthed the earliest known evidence of body perforation in skeletons dating back 11,000 years at the Boncuklu Tarla in Türkiye

11 March 2024

11 March 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed the earliest known evidence of body perforation in skeletons dating back 11,000 years at the Boncuklu Tarla...

Croatian Team Finds a Way to Effectively and Permanently Preserve Stuka Aircraft Wreck Under the Sea

11 December 2024

11 December 2024

 The ICUA Zadar team of conservators and archaeologists carried out in situ underwater conservation of the wreckage of the Junkers...

The Ancient City of Kilistra, Cappadocia of Konya’s

1 February 2021

1 February 2021

When we talk about fairy chimneys, churches and underground cities, the first place that comes to mind is Cappadocia between...

‘Holy Grail of shipwrecks’ worth $20 billion in treasure to be raised from seabed

10 November 2023

10 November 2023

A treasure ship described as the “holy grail of shipwrecks” will reportedly be lifted from the sea floor where it...

Archaeological Dig at Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulchre Corroborates New Testament Account of Garden

3 May 2025

3 May 2025

A significant archaeological excavation nearing its conclusion at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City has yielded...

Neanderthals used glue to make stone tools 40,000 years ago, a new study suggests “Earliest evidence of a multi-component adhesive in Europe”

22 February 2024

22 February 2024

More than 40,000 years ago, Neanderthals in what is now France used a multi-component adhesive to make handles for stone...

Oldest Fortresses in the World Discovered in Siberia

8 December 2023

8 December 2023

Archaeologists from Freie Universität Berlin together with an international team have uncovered fortified prehistoric settlements in a remote region of...

“Mosaic of the Wine Harvest” mosaic to be exhibited in November in Turkey’s Hatay

26 October 2021

26 October 2021

The mosaic depicting the grape harvest, which is considered to date from the Late Roman period, equivalent to the 5th...

The Life of the Maya Ambassador Found in El Palmar was not Easy

18 March 2021

18 March 2021

El Palmar is a small plaza compound in Mexico near the borders of Belize and Guatemala. Archaeologists Kenichiro Tsukamoto and...

The ‘boiler room’ of the bath in the Ancient City of Metropolis was unearthed

11 August 2022

11 August 2022

The vault section, called the ‘boiler room’, which provides a heat source, has been unearthed in the historical bath of...

At a dig site in western Turkey, a centuries-old Byzantine fortress will be revealed

24 December 2021

24 December 2021

Excavation of vast Byzantine-era fortifications considered to be about 900 years old has begun at a dig site in western...